Boys Soccer: Hershey-bound Conestoga blanks Central Bucks West, 2-0

Franconia >> For the Conestoga boys’ soccer team, the winning formula Tuesday evening was the same as usual for its PIAA 4A state semifinal against Central Bucks West.

Get a couple of goals from high-scoring senior forward Chris Donovan, play airtight defense, and rely on goalie Luke Smith to save anything that manages to get through the Pioneers’ excellent defensive backfield.

It all added up to a 2-0 victory at Souderton Area High School that sends the defending state champion Pioneers (24-0-1) back to Hershey to try for a second consecutive PIAA 4A state title. Friday evening at Hersheypark Stadium, District 1 and Central League champion Conestoga (24-0-1) will face District 3 champion Hempfield.

Tuesday evening, a few minutes after the Pioneers’ victory, Conestoga head coach David Zimmerman gathered his team, spoke to his players briefly and closed his talk with, “This was a big win….so you know what that means,” and Hershey Kisses chocolate candies were tossed into the air for the high-flying Pioneers to catch.

Conestoga didn’t waste much time getting the lead Tuesday night. Just 4:17 into the contest, Donovan stripped the ball from a Buck defender deep in CB West territory, then quickly dribbled and fired in an unassisted goal. It was his 51st goal of the season. Donovan, who finished the night with 52 goals for the season (so far), has more than doubled the Conestoga single-season mark for goals scored this fall.

“I liken Chris to a coiled snake,” said Zimmerman. “He sort of lies in wait, springs, and before you know it, he’s got another goal. He’s done it again and again this season. Just when he appears not to be doing very much, all of a sudden, the ball’s in the back of the net. He’s like a coiled spring ready to strike.”

Less then three minutes after Donovan’s first goal, Central Bucks West took a good shot at the Conestoga goal after a restart, but Luke Smith deftly knocked the ball away for a great save.

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